The Missing Scarlet
by Katie237
Summary: Missing scenes from 4x09 Don't Run; Caitlin gets back to the lab after being rescued, only to realize she wasn't the only one who went M.I.A. on that night. Later on, the team must take care of their wounded speedster.
1. Chapter 1

**I needed to write this missing scene so I could get it out of my head and allow me to work on Message in a bottle :) Yup, this story is returning. And I worked without Beta on that short story, so please don't kill me.**

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''Woohoo!'' Exclaimed Ralph, coming out of Cisco's breach and back at the lab, as the engineer released his grip on him.

Jumping into action, saving people and leaving without a hitch sure was a breath of fresh air and it felt amazing. How come these things never happened when he's teaming up with Barry? Barely a couple of feet away from him was standing Caitlin with her new friend and both of them were smiling tiredly and nodding at Cisco, who had a gentle grab on his doctor friend's arm, to confirm their relatively ok status. At least, their unharmed status.

''You sure you' ok?'' Inquired Cisco with his glance going up and down on his friend, scanning and searching for any sign of injuries. ''You look a little pale.''

''Yeah, yeah...I'm ok.'' Assured Caitlin another time, catching her breath. ''Cutting a little close, don't you think?'' She added, relieved smile on her lips.

''Hey!'' Protested Ralph, smiling widely. ''It wouldn't be fun without a little suspense, wouldn't it?''

Caitlin rolled her eyes, but chose not to answer back at Ralph, well aware that she wasn't going to win at this. Not to mention that she was still slightly bittersweet at the way he treated her earlier, just before she ran out of the lab.

''Amway, thanks guys. Clearly Amulet was done showing me mercy.''

''Yeah, good job.'' Said Iris' voice, with a strangely overly tired tone, forcing Caitlin to turn around and take a look at the other woman standing behind the main computers. Something wasn't right, her Spidey senses, or whatever it was, were tingling in a very bad way.

Scanning around the room, the doctor made a silent head count on who was present at the moment with her and who wasn't. With every passing second, a pit started to form in her stomach; as much as she was glad Cisco and Ralph came to her rescue her mind couldn't stop wondering why it was these two who fought Amulet Black. And it wasn't because she wanted to be picky about who was doing the saving.

''Where's Barry?'' She finally managed to ask.

For one moment, just one split second, now that the team finally had a victory during that endless night, they forgot that they still had a friend out there. A friend that was still missing and in need. That's _if_ he was still alive...With the guilt forming a lump in Cisco's throat, realizing he was wasting time celebrating while Barry was still MIA, he rushed to the nearest computer in the back before frantically typing on the keyboard without even answering the doctor's question.

''Guys?'' Nervously said Caitlin, biting her bottom lips while nervously scratching her right hand with the other one.

''Devoe took Barry.'' Drily spitted out Ralph without introduction.

''What?! How did this happen? When?'' Boomed Caitlin's voice, causing Dominic to jump next to her, clearly not expecting the sudden explosion of words and emotions.

Seriously, how long had she been gone? An hour? Couple of hours? As far as she knew, Barry was fine when she got abducted.

''Devoe attacked me and Barry in the street as Amulet was taking you.'' Succinctly explained Iris . ''Cisco-'' She started, only to get interrupted instantly.

''Already switched back the satellite to look for Barry's Speed's signature.'' He confirmed.

''What can I do?'' Asked Caitlin, already ready for battle while handing her wrists over and displaying her power dampening cuff, silently inviting anyone to free her from the cuffs so she could go full on Killer Frost on Devoe.

''You rest, it's been a long night.'' Pressed out Cisco, looking up from the computer and walking forward to free his friend. ''You looks exhausted. ''

He wasn't wrong on that one, but to be honest they all were. Except, Caitlin couldn't picture herself going to sleep, not now, not 'til they knew Barry was fine…or at least that he was still alive.

Her brain just wouldn't stop imagining some horrifying scenarios. After all, they didn't picked the name Thinker for nothing; Devoe was smart and thoughtful, if he kidnapped Barry it was for a reason. What if….no….he wouldn't. But what IF…That man was in a wheelchair, what if he needed Barry to steal his powers in order to heal himself? Or, something worse?

No, she couldn't start thinking like that, not while she still had Demonic to look at and make sure he was fine.

''I'm going to check out Dominic and after you'll explain to me everything that happened.'' She compromised on a tone that wasn't up for discussion before pushing her new friend ahead of her and toward the med bay, worry forming a pit in her stomach.

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 **A/N: Comments are always deeply appreciated :)**

 **I will post somewhere next week or this weekend the other missing scene, after Barry showed up at the lab after escaping.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: like I promised, ready for the weekend. Enjoy!**

 **Like the first part, I did this all by myself, without my Beta, so please don't murder me for the mistakes. My awesome Beta is busy with the new Message in a Bottle chapter. Yup, now that all my stories are over, I'm putting back almost all my attention into writing so many chapters of that story that you'll have regular updates in January.**

 **Oh and AGirlsTaleAuthor; yup I am still riding. Still injured in my knees and I'll still need a couple more months to recover, so only dressage and trail riding, so not jumping 'til I'm 100%. When I get too impatient I remember Henry's wise words; ''Sometimes you just gotta slow down to get back to where you want to be.''**

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Despite Caitlin's best efforts, she wasn't able to keep her eyes open while waiting for the satellite to finally spot Barry's location; she ended up falling asleep on one of the medical bay not that long after giving Dominic a clear bill of health and letting him go home. Not that far from the bed, Cisco was asleep too, on the chair positioned in front of the desk. The engineer's head was resting on his crossed arms on the furniture, right in front of the computer that was tracking Barry's SpeedForce energy. So far, nothing came up.

At the moment, Iris was the only one still standing and still fighting off sleep. No matter how worn out she was, she was refusing to leave her post 'til her husband was found alive. Alive. There was no other possibility than finding him alive. Maybe she could, and should, take a quick nap considering how she would be no good to the team if she was too exhausted to keep her eyes open…On the bright side, she wasn't the one fighting on the field.

When she heard the familiar whoosh sound of an entering speedster, she almost didn't turn around in fear of being disappointed. What if it only was her imagination or Wally showing up? No, it was neither of these possibilities, it was _him_.

''Barry!'' She breathed out in joy and pure relief.

He was back, he was alive and was standing. Well, mostly standing; he was on his feet, but he was heavily leaning against the wall. While hugging him as tight as possible, Iris quickly took notice of the way the grip her husband had on her was slacking a little more with every second and she felt how laborious his breathing against his neck seemed to be.

''Barry?'' She asked worriedly, her concern exponentially rising when she realized all of his weight was equally distributed between herself and the wall.

The fact that she obtained absolutely no answer and that her husband's eyes were tightly closed didn't help to ease the anguish building up in her guts. Sure enough, a mere moment later, Barry's body went completely slack and gravity claimed him all the way to the floor, taking Iris along with him. Without the force needed to support Barry's weight, despite her fit body, all Iris managed to do was to keep the hero's head from hitting the floor at full speed.

''Help! Cisco! Caitlin!'' She shouted, barely turning around for half a second while strongly shaking Barry's shoulders, desperate to rouse him up. ''Come on, Barry, stay with me. Open your eyes. HE-''

She didn't have time to finish her last word before the cavalry arrived in the form of Cisco who knelt down to the ground and next to his two friends with a resonating bang. Even in her panic state, Iris winced at the sound; that probably hurt. But, even if it did, Cisco showed no sign of it as he was too busy assessing the situation.

''What happened? How did-''

''He just showed up. Go get me C-''

''On it!'' Interrupted Cisco, already jumping back on his feet faster than Barry would and rushing back at full speed in the medical bay. Arriving, he shook the doctor's shoulders as fast and hard as he could.

''What's-'' Gasped Caitlin, her eyes opening just as fast as the speed of her racing heart. ''Where's the fire?'' She said, instantly awake and ready to jump into a fight when she saw the panic in Cisco's eyes.

''Barry!'' It was all he said, all he needed to while pointing toward the cortex's door.

Looking in that direction, the doctor instantly spotted a pair of red boots sprawled on the floor with the rest of the body hidden under Iris.

Jumping on her feet in a fraction of a second, Caitlin snatched her penlight from the nearest table and rushed to where the CSI was laying still, landing on her knees and next to his head.

''Barry? Can you hear me?" Asked Caitlin, prying the speedster' eyes open one by one and flashing a light into them

The hero groaned and weakly tried to close his eyes at the intrusion. His head moved to his right, trying to escape the light, but otherwise showed no other sign that he was aware of his surroundings. Reading the doctor's mind, that or having seen Barry comes back injured way too often, Iris opened up the suit before Caitlin had to ask. Thankfully, there were no bloody and gruesome injuries at first sight, other than some pretty impressive bruises, not that it excluded the possibility of more problems hidden underneath the skin. Moving down on the man's body, the doctor expertly probed his chest and limbs, wincing in sympathy at the weak whimpers of pain she got in answer as she started pressing down the ribs.

''Definitely bruises ribs and at least one broken-'' She stated halfway in her examination. ''Make that three.'' She corrected when Barry arched his back slightly and weakly waved his hands in a faint attempt to free himself from the source of his pain. ''Shhh, it's okay, you're safe now.'' Added the doctor.

''What's the prognosis?'' Wondered Cisco, standing right behind the two women with his shoulders tensed in anticipation and ready to jump in to assist at any time.

''I can't find any significant damage other than his ribs; he's probably worn out and dehydrated. I'll hook him up on some IV and he should be fine.''

They all sighed in relief at that. What a night. Good thing it was almost over. Teaming up, the three of them quickly and efficiently transported the man in a medical bed before taking his suit off. As Caitlin was inserting a needle into Barry's arm, Cisco's loud ringtone made itself known and earned the engineer a sharp glare from Caitlin.

 _'Mind letting me work?'_ Told the sharp eyes.

Taking his cell out of his pocket, Cisco almost dismissed it 'til he saw the name calling. Oh, they should've called him right away.

''Cisco!'' Boomed Joe's voice as soon as Cisco picked up. ''Tell me your satellite picked up Barry's Speedforce! I have witnesses who reported seeing the Flash crashing into their windows-''

''Joe, we-''

''- and one who sworn she saw a red figure falling from the sky and into the water. Except, I can't find anything on the scene. Please, tell me you have anything, something! Or you could breach over and-?''

''Joe, stop!'' Shouted Cisco, finally succeeding in interrupting the older man. ''We have him, we have Barry and he's-''

The line went dead on the other side like the other man had stop breathing under the mixed emotions probably attacking him at the moment; relief, worry, happiness, surprise...?

''When did that...? Is h-''

''He showed up a couple of minutes ago in the cortex and collapsed, but Caitlin thinks it's because of dehydration and exhaustion. She's with him now.''

The uncomfortable silence continued for a few more moments, just enough for Cisco to start doubting there was anyone still on the other line. Just as he was about to add something, the detective finally spoke again with urgency.

''I'm on my way, I'll be there in 5 minutes.''

 *****FLASHFLASHFLASH*****

''Devoe, NO! JOE!'' Shouted Barry's voice, waking up screaming and pushing his body upright and seated on the bed with his glance darting all over the room. In his confused and panic state, his eyes were moving way too fast for his brain to register a single thing he was actually seeing. His racing heart was painfully pumping hard into his chest and he almost jumped out of his skin when an unknown hand grabbed his arm.

''Hey, hey. Easy son, take it easy. I'm here.''

That voice...Joe? Forcing himself to slow down, Barry turned his head and locked his vision on the blurry form on his right.

''Are you back with me?'' Worriedly asked Joe as the hero just kept on blinking and staring for a couple more seconds. Had Devoe done something to his mind?

''Joe-''

The older man finally breathed out in deep relief, so Barry could still talk and recognize him.

''-are you ok? Devoe did he…he said that-'' Babbled Barry while scanning the detective for any signs of injuries.

''Calm down, Barr, I'm fine.'' He assured, smiling comfortingly. ''I'm not the one in a hospital bed right now.''

Mildly convinced, Barry still forced his breathing to slow down at a more normal pace: ''Devoe, he has cameras everywhere and he showed me that you were on his porch, right after he told me there was no happy ending.'' He tried to explain, his brain still a little scramble from the experience.

No happy ending? That didn't sound good.

''What did he do to you? How did you escape?''

''He didn't have time to do anything, I outsmarted him before he could lay a hand on me.'' Proudly said Barry.

It wasn't much of an answer, but it was enough for now. What was important at the moment was that Barry was back and unharmed, so was Caitlin. Everything turned out ok and the detective couldn't help the smirk on his face at the idea that they finally managed to play the player for once.

''Great job on this one. But I swear, if he ever touches you or anyone else again I will-''

''Hey, it's ok, whatever he has plan next, we'll deal with it like we always do.''

Even if he managed to escape out of the energy's prison, Barry still had a bad feeling about all of this. A feeling he just couldn't shake it off. It almost was too easy. Yeah, sure, he had to think of a new way to use his powers, got pretty banged up in their fight and Devoe's chair almost caught him another time... but still. Devoe was smart, he would've known that the same trick wouldn't work twice and he instantly guessed out how Barry managed to get invisible. Hell, he didn't seem surprised by that feat. How come he didn't think of that before lowering the energy field? Unless...unless he wanted Barry to get out?

No, Barry was just getting paranoid. It was Christmas time, time of the miracles; Barry needed to accept and celebrate every victory he could have against his foes, like the one he just had.

''Where is everyone else?'' He finally asked, smiling, ready to celebrate.

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 **A/N: Leave a comment :)**


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